Peirce, with apologies I start this, as I know there is an older thread somewhere. Couldn't resist getting this shot of Steve Sandberg's (Mr. 261) nephew, Jason, hostling the 261 at their shops at Minneapolis Junction. This young man really knows his steam engines and was doing a great job. Go, Jason! On the same trip, caught Mr. 4449, Doyle McCormack, snuggling up to the 261. He was running the CP 2816 in the same vicinity. We had a doubleheader on July 3rd. What a trip!
Seeing the coal shoveling photo, a question comes into mind- At what point do they start using the stoker? Boxcab E50
As soon as they start moving. When that shot was taken, the engine was just sitting in the shop, and a coal fired engine needs a hostler to keep the fire going just enough to keep the boiler pressure up. They were running about 225psi I think. It's just a matter of keeping the fire even and drawing. No way you could hand fire this monster out on the road. It has a BIG stoker. And here is a photo of Doyle REALLY at work. He was the engineer on 2816 on July 2 at Red Wing, when this was taken.
75 inches, and 261 is 74, so they were almost "in synch" with each other when running doubleheaded. And yes, Doyle is that tall.
